dogwatch
Premium Platinum
I know it's only Round 3 but I'd be concerned for my career if I was Wallis or Lipinski.
Wallis is 28 (turns 29 this year), has played over 150 games, even won a Ching IIRC but has now been superseded as a midfielder, partly because of who we've brought in (Dunkley, Smith, Treloar, Vandermeer) but also because the game has moved on. You need pace and flair or huge accumulation numbers in the midfield these days. Wallis has neither. He carved out a niche as a goalscorer last year when our forward line was in horrible shape but it was hard yakka. I thought he'd be given another couple of games to get that form back but with the riches at his disposal Bevo doesn't seem to have that much patience any more.
Where does he go from here? There's no spot for him in midfield. He might regain his goalkicking form but he has just conceded his spot to somebody else who'll be desperate to capitalise, so he'll need to perform very well to get it back. The other option is half-back but his lack of pace and limited range kicking might see players like JJ, Scott, Richards or Butler ahead of him in the queue.
Unless he's been omitted because he's ill I'd say he's in trouble. It's a long season though so it's the best time to be given this sort of shake-up.
I've been dubious about Lipinski for the last couple of years. His early career promise stalled for the reasons most have seen - lack of pace, lack of consistency and so-so defensive skills. This year he started very well in the pre-season and was reported to be in ripping shape. I thought he might have turned the corner but it's back to the same old in-for-a-few, out-for-a-few pattern by the look of it.
Like Wallis his problem is that he's neither fish nor fowl - too slow for a midfielder and not productive enough for a HFF. He too might be eyeing off a HBF position if he can't get any traction as a midfielder / HFF, but with so many candidates for half back I don't know if he'll get the chance.
At least he's young enough to re-start his career at another club, unlike Wallis.
Bevo put the acid on JJ who we must assume has now made the required corrections to his game. This can only be good for the side. Like Richards, JJ had enjoyed a charmed run as an automatic senior selection even when his form was down. Let's hope Bevo has given the same sort of ultimatum to Wallis and Lipinski. Let's also hope Bevo maintains this hard-nosed approach ("perform or else") to the entire squad. The gamble with Scott and McNeil might yet fail but I don't mind him trying it. I can sort of see it with McNeil who should continue to get better but I can't help feeling Scott is almost at his ceiling right now.
Wallis is 28 (turns 29 this year), has played over 150 games, even won a Ching IIRC but has now been superseded as a midfielder, partly because of who we've brought in (Dunkley, Smith, Treloar, Vandermeer) but also because the game has moved on. You need pace and flair or huge accumulation numbers in the midfield these days. Wallis has neither. He carved out a niche as a goalscorer last year when our forward line was in horrible shape but it was hard yakka. I thought he'd be given another couple of games to get that form back but with the riches at his disposal Bevo doesn't seem to have that much patience any more.
Where does he go from here? There's no spot for him in midfield. He might regain his goalkicking form but he has just conceded his spot to somebody else who'll be desperate to capitalise, so he'll need to perform very well to get it back. The other option is half-back but his lack of pace and limited range kicking might see players like JJ, Scott, Richards or Butler ahead of him in the queue.
Unless he's been omitted because he's ill I'd say he's in trouble. It's a long season though so it's the best time to be given this sort of shake-up.
I've been dubious about Lipinski for the last couple of years. His early career promise stalled for the reasons most have seen - lack of pace, lack of consistency and so-so defensive skills. This year he started very well in the pre-season and was reported to be in ripping shape. I thought he might have turned the corner but it's back to the same old in-for-a-few, out-for-a-few pattern by the look of it.
Like Wallis his problem is that he's neither fish nor fowl - too slow for a midfielder and not productive enough for a HFF. He too might be eyeing off a HBF position if he can't get any traction as a midfielder / HFF, but with so many candidates for half back I don't know if he'll get the chance.
At least he's young enough to re-start his career at another club, unlike Wallis.
Bevo put the acid on JJ who we must assume has now made the required corrections to his game. This can only be good for the side. Like Richards, JJ had enjoyed a charmed run as an automatic senior selection even when his form was down. Let's hope Bevo has given the same sort of ultimatum to Wallis and Lipinski. Let's also hope Bevo maintains this hard-nosed approach ("perform or else") to the entire squad. The gamble with Scott and McNeil might yet fail but I don't mind him trying it. I can sort of see it with McNeil who should continue to get better but I can't help feeling Scott is almost at his ceiling right now.
